JERSEY CITY, N.J., April 11, 2011 — Pershing LLC, a BNY Mellon company, will join forces with prominent financial industry, education and advocacy organizations in support of National Retirement Planning Week®. National Retirement Planning Week, April 11-15, is sponsored by the National Retirement Planning Coalition (NRPC) to help raise public awareness of the need to comprehensively plan for retirement.

Reports show that this year the first of 79 million Baby Boomers will turn 65, and that 4 million boomers will turn 60 each year for the next 18 years. For many, this milestone will present a much needed opportunity to reassess their level of retirement preparedness. Insured Retirement Institute (IRI) research shows that nearly seven out of 10 Boomers within five years of retirement, and nearly eight out of 10 of Boomers outside of that window, stated that they are concerned about having adequate income during retirement.  

"A financially secure future is attainable for the millions of Americans nearing retirement. We in the financial services industry have a responsibility to increase consumer awareness and provide comprehensive retirement planning and preparedness solutions," said Brian Shea, chief executive officer of Pershing LLC and a member of the IRI Board of Directors. "To assist in this effort, Pershing is supporting the National Retirement Planning Coalition and committing significant resources to provide our broker-dealer and registered investment advisor (RIA) customers with tools, content and strategies to better-assist their clients with retirement planning."

Pershing is launching a new website, www.retirementpowerplay.com, as part of its commitment to help broker-dealers, their investment professionals and RIAs with preparing their clients for retirement. Retirementpowerplay.com is a dedicated online destination that provides financial professionals with educational content, tools and comprehensive strategies to help them grow their retirement businesses.

The 2011 National Retirement Planning Week® events include:

• April 11: Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) president and chief executive officer, Dallas Salisbury, hosts a webinar on consumer retirement readiness by leveraging data from EBRI's 2011 Retirement Confidence Survey.
• April 12: IRI president and chief executive officer, Cathy Weatherford, moderates a media forum with industry leaders on evolving perceptions of risk management in the insured retirement market.  New IRI research on Boomers and retirement will be released onsite as well.
• April 13: IRI hosts a practice management webinar for financial advisors.
• April 14: The NRPC Coalition releases a client-approved tip-sheet for financial advisors on how consumers can formulate a plan for lifelong financial retirement health.
• April 15: The Aspen Institute hosts a Washington, D.C.-based roundtable on retirement issues.

The National Retirement Planning Coalition is headed by the IRI, and includes the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI), Americans for Secure Retirement (ASR), Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association (DCIIA), Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), Financial Services Forum, Financial Services Institute (FSI), Financial Services Roundtable (FSR), National Association of Fixed Annuities (NAFA), NICSA, Retirement Income Industry Association (RIIA), The American College, The Aspen Institute Initiative on Financial Security (Aspen IFS) and Women's Institute for a Secure Retirement (WISER).

The Insured Retirement Institute (IRI) is a not-for-profit organization and is the authoritative source of all things pertaining to annuities, insured retirement strategies and retirement planning. IRI exists to vigorously promote consumer confidence in the value and viability of insured retirement strategies, bringing together the interests of the industry, financial advisors and consumers under one umbrella. IRI's mission is to: encourage industry adherence to highest ethical principles; promote better understanding of the insured retirement value proposition; develop and promote best practice standards to improve value delivery; and to advocate before public policy makers on critical issues affecting insured retirement strategies. Visit http://irionline.org/ to experience the new, vast resources of the new Insured Retirement Institute for yourself.

Pershing LLC (member FINRA/NYSE/SIPC) is a leading global provider of financial business solutions to more than 1,500 institutional and retail financial organizations and independent registered investment advisors who collectively represent approximately five million active investors. Located in 21 offices worldwide, Pershing and its affiliates are committed to delivering dependable operational support, robust trading services, flexible technology, an expansive array of investment solutions, practice management support and service excellence. Pershing is a member of every major U.S. securities exchange and its international affiliates are members of the Deutsche Borse, the Irish Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange. Pershing LLC is a BNY Mellon company. Additional information is available at www.pershing.com.

BNY Mellon is a global financial services company focused on helping clients manage and service their financial assets, operating in 36 countries and serving more than 100 markets.  BNY Mellon is a leading provider of financial services for institutions, corporations and high-net-worth individuals, offering superior investment management and investment services through a worldwide client-focused team.  It has $25.0 trillion in assets under custody and administration and $1.17 trillion in assets under management, services $12.0 trillion in outstanding debt and processes global payments averaging $1.6 trillion per day.  BNY Mellon is the corporate brand of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE: BK).  Additional information is available at www.bnymellon.com.